Because of the order in which it is recorded in Matthew 13, it is always a bit difficult to discuss this parable. In the first verses of Matthew 13, Jesus tells the crowds the story of the sower and that was all they heard, because that is where He ended His speech.
Perhaps it would be easier to discuss the Lord’s explanation immediately after the parable, but that only follows later, in verses 18-23. We find something similar in the parable of the weeds, which comes after this. There too we see an interruption between the speaking of the parable and the explanation.
fundamental
It is of course not without reason that we find the following verses described first. The first time the Lord begins to speak in parables is also the only time that He gives an extensive explanation of why He does this. We would take note of that, because this information is fundamental to understanding the other parables as well.
10 And the disciples came to him, and said, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11 And he answered and said unto them, To you it is given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
not given to them
The disciples’ question is why the Lord speaks to the crowd in parables. Jesus’ answer is that He does this because something has not been given to them, namely the secrets of the Kingdom.
The word that is translated as secrets is the Greek musterion (G3466), which is translated in the Statenvertaling as mysteries. It is made up of the word parts: close + keep. It is there, but there is a lid over it, so that it remains secret and hidden.
revealed
The opposite of musterion is: revelation or disclosure. The Greek apokalupsis also means that the covering is taken off. The Lord says that it has been given to the disciples to know the secrets of the Kingdom. He therefore gave them explanations and removed the veil from it.
12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
who has
At first glance, this seems a somewhat cryptic statement from the Lord. Whoever has, speaks of whoever has the Word. To him will be given, namely: the secrets of the Kingdom. The disciples had the expectation of the Kingdom and they believed the Word. Therefore, the Lord also gave them the secrets of the Kingdom.
who does not have
But whoever does not have the Word, that is, the one who does not believe it, will also be taken away from what He has. Israel had the expectation of a Kingdom and that would be taken away from them. First, because the Kingdom would be hidden and salvation would go to the nations.
But also, because, if in the future the Kingdom will still be revealed, many of the Jewish people, to whom it was originally promised, will have no part in the Kingdom (Matt. 8:11-12; Luke 13:28-29).